SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A police officer in the United Arab Emirates says a camel trainer drowned after his animal raced into the sea north of Dubai.

The National newspaper on Tuesday quotes police Maj. Khalid Ali Obaid al-Ali as saying the Sudanese man took the camel to be washed in the Persian Gulf in Sharjah, the emirate north of Dubai. The report said the camel ran into the sea and the trainer followed into deep water.

Al-Ali said it took rescue units four hours to locate the body, which was found about 200 meters (yards) off the coast.

Camels are common outside the UAE’s urban centers and some are trained for popular camel racing events.